WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (AFP) - Former president Bill Clinton`s long-awaited comeback to the campaign trail Monday will provide an extra incentive for faithful Democratic supporters to get out to the polls on November 2, Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry said, as the final week of campaigning gets underway.
"Obviously I hope he brings the strength and talent and just the excitement that Bill Clinton always brings to the campaign trail," Kerry told NBC television`s "Today Show" program.
"This was a very successful president in terms of the policies of our country and people know that," Kerry said.
Kerry said that the record of Clinton and the Democrats on domestic policy stands in stark contrast to that of incumbent Republican President George W. Bush.
"We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt for two years in a row ... More people came into business ownership, we had equal pay efforts, we raised the minimum wage for people -- all things George Bush has undone or has not done.
"I think having Bill Clinton reminds Americans about the importance of this choice, and what it can mean to the lives of middle class Americans -- middle class Americans who have been left behind by George Bush," said Kerry in the interview taped on Sunday.
Clinton was to appear with Kerry at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just seven weeks after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery. He is scheduled to stump for Kerry in Florida and in the western United States later in the week.
When asked about whether he worried that Clinton`s scandal-ridden legacy might in some way hurt his campaign, Kerry answered an emphatic no.
"I`m running for president, not Bill Clinton. But Bill Clinton`s policies made a difference in the lives of Americans," he said.
10/25/2004 12:18 GMT - AFP